Americans Mad at Congress

Americans Mad at Congress

New poll numbers show that Americans are fed up with Congress, as a deal on the debt ceiling may be in the works.

It's day 11 and it looks like there's some movement in Washington toward ending the government shutdown and preventing an historic federal default.

The way out still isn't clear, but what's crystal clear is how frustrated Americans are.

Our pollsters say they never seen the public speak more clearly. Capitol Hill staffers negotiated late into the night. And there's another White House meeting this morning between President Obama and Senate Republicans.

There's no deal yet to reopen the government, but it looks like something maybe on the horizon. "In the hours ahead. And we hope to have it open by, you know, Monday morning," said Rep Lynn Jenkins, (R) Kansas.

After the President's meeting with Republicans, the White House signaled it may back the GOP a plan to temporarily raise debt ceiling and prevent an historic default. "The President is happy that cooler heads at least seem to be prevailing in the House. There seems to be a recognition that default is not an option," said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.

"The President said that he would go and consult with the administration folks and hopefully we can see a way forward after that," said Eric Cantor, (R) Virginia.

Re-opening the government could be trickier. In exchange for raising the debt ceiling, Republicans want to take up to six weeks to negotiate on the budget. "Not going to happen," said Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid, (D-NV).

The public's angry. In our new NBC-Wall Street Journal poll - six in ten said they'd fire every member of Congress.

70% say Republicans are putting their political agenda ahead of what's best for the country. 51% say the same for President Obama.

More think Democrats should control Congress. And a third say they've been directly affected by the shutdown.

That includes military families denied death benefits. President Obama signed off on a law to make sure they get paid.

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